First Solar Sponsors Kids to Parks Day—Sending 1,100 Students to Parks
Rockville, MD (February 21, 2019) – National Park Trust is pleased to announce that it has received renewed funding from the First Solar Corporate Charitable Fund of the Toledo Community Foundation in support of the Kids to Parks Day National School Contest. The First Solar Corporate Charitable Fund has had a long term partnership with the Park Trust dating back to 2012.
With the $25,000 gift from First Solar, National Park Trust will be able to support 25 Title I schools through their Kids to Parks Day National School Contest. For many of these students, this will be their first park experience. The Kids to Parks Day Contest is a national program providing up to $1,000 per school to cover transportation costs, program and stewardship project fees School bus funding is the biggest barrier to the outdoors for students in Title I schools. This year’s contest closed on February 14th and is open each year to Pre K through 12th graders that attend Title I schools, the federal indicator of low-income schools.
Each year, using their grants, the students discover a local park where they enjoy outdoor recreation, use the park as an outdoor science or history classroom, and learn about their role as park stewards by participating in service projects.
“We are pleased to continue our support for the Kids to Parks Day School Contest. This program directly responds to the first tenet of First Solar’s corporate giving values, to support ‘green’ education initiatives.”
Keith Burwell, President of Toledo Community Foundation
“On behalf of the thousands of students from Title I schools that benefit from our multi-year partnership, we are very grateful for this renewed generous gift from the First Solar Corporate Charitable Fund of the Toledo Community Foundation. Each year, these students look forward to discovering and exploring new parks in celebration of Kids to Parks Day.”
Grace Lee, Executive Director, National Park Trust
ABOUT NATIONAL PARK TRUST National Park Trust is a non-profit dedicated to preserving parks today and creating park stewards for tomorrow. The Park Trust is the only land trust with a comprehensive mission of protecting national parks through land acquisition and creating a pipeline of future park stewards by getting kids to parks. Since 1983, the Park Trust has completed 70 land projects in 31 states, 1 US Territory, and Washington, DC. This school year, the Park Trust will provide an estimated 25,000 under-served kids with park trips through their nationally recognized Buddy Bison School Program and Kids to Parks Day National School Contest, both of which support Title I schools. Find out more at www.parktrust.org ABOUT TOLEDO
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION Toledo Community Foundation, Inc. is a public charitable organization created by citizens of our community to enrich the quality of life for individuals and families in our area. In existence since 1973, the Foundation has more than 800 funds with assets of approximately $287 million. The Foundation provides philanthropic services for individuals, families, businesses, and corporations to meet their charitable giving needs. For more information on the Foundation, visit the organization’s website at www.toledocf.org or follow them on Facebook.
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